Introduction
Illegal immigration is a highly controversial subject in the American society. The government’s decision to deport unlawful immigrants and construct the Mexican wall has created sharp divisions among the people (Rojas-Flores et al., 2017). Proponents of the deportation of illegal immigrants base their arguments on the economic and social benefits that will accrue to the society, for example, provision of more job opportunities for valid citizens. On the other hand, opponents of the expulsion of illegal immigrants argue that the decision is unethical as it splits families, discriminates against certain communities, and denies people the right to better lives (Rojas-Flores et al., 2017). Despite the presence of police patrol along the Mexican border, thousands of individuals still attempt to cross to American every day, and some have lost their lives in the process. Besides, there is an ongoing political tension as the government tries to secure enough funds to complete the construction of the border wall. Undoubtedly, Christians should adhere to the biblical interpretation of illegal immigrants to take the right position on the issue.
New Testament Passages on Immigration
Various biblical passages in the New Testament address the immigration question. Luke 10: 25-37 focuses on the Parable of the Good Samaritan that teaches Christians how to treat their neighbors including strangers. The parable shows that Christians should be compassionate, merciful, and help each other at times of need; for example, the Good Samaritan assisted the injured man and catered for his health needs.
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Matthew 25: 31-46 is another text that answers the immigration question. According to the passage, Jesus will divide the people into two major groups that are sheep and goats during the final judgment. The sheep will comprise of individuals who welcome strangers, visit the sick and those in prisons, feed the hungry, and also give water to the thirsty. On the other hand, the goats will encompass individual that fail to show the admirable qualities of the sheep; thus they will be punished for their bad conduct. Romans 15:7-11 Paul encourages Christians to welcome and accept strangers in the same way that Jesus accepted them as his followers. Notably, Paul’s prompt was meant to encourage the Jews to allow the Gentiles to join their congregation, and the new Gentiles in the current discussion are the immigrants in America.
Also, Jesus’ teachings on immigration were founded in his personal experience. Matthew 2:13-15 Jesus and His parents were forced to become an immigrant in Egypt at a young age to avoid death by Herod and stayed there until it was safe to return. Undoubtedly, if Jesus had been treated unkindly or deported from Egypt, He would not have accomplished his mission on earth. Hebrews 13: 1-2, encourages Christians to love each other and become hospitable to aliens to get God’s blessing. The verse also reminds the people about Abraham’s experience of welcoming an angel, who had disguised himself as a stranger, into his home and the blessings that followed him after that.
Passage Analysis Luke 10: 25-37
Arguably, the parable of the Good Samaritan adequately addresses the immigration issue from a biblical perspective. The injured man represents the immigrants in the society and the numerous challenges they encounter in their attempts to fully integrate into their new communities (Heimburger, 2014). For example, many immigrants in American society have difficulty securing employment, experience communication barriers, culture shock, and rejection from their neighbors (Tsuji et al., 2016). For the immigrants, they welcome any form of help given to improve their lives. The current problem facing millions of undocumented immigrants in the USA today is the risk of deportation that will separate them from their loved ones and loss of unemployment (Rojas-Flores et al., 2017). For example, some immigrants have been deported to their home nations without their children. The whole exercise has resulted in emotional and psychological suffering for the affected parties.
Additionally, the Good Samaritan parable also shows that immigrants face a lot of rejection from many people in society. Two that passed the injured man without offering him assistance including a priest and a Levite, yet the two were in a position to help him. Similarly, there are many individuals in society that can help immigrants overcome their problems, but many are unwilling to lend them assistance (Melkonian-Hoover, & Kellstedt, 2019). The problem is attributable to the fear that immigrants will steal jobs, increasing insecurity, and change the cultural beliefs observed in the nation. Notably, illegal immigrants go to America in the hope of better future, and such rejection and deportation are devastating for themselves and their families.
The Good Samaritan is a perfect example of how Christians should treat immigrants in society. The Samaritan was compassionate to the injured man suffering; he immediately picked the man and took him to a safer place (Wickersham, 2013). Moreover, the Samaritan cleaned and covered the man’s wounds to ease his pains, and paid for his stay in an inn and asked the innkeeper to look after him. Therefore, Jesus shows the need for loving other people indiscriminately regardless of their nationality, age, or gender. Although the Samaritan was considered as an inferior because of his origin, he was better than the Levite and priest because of his kind actions.
Conclusion
All the biblical passage on immigration discussed above shows the need for accepting and treating all foreigners in the country with a lot of compassion. The texts advocate for the need to love all neighbors indiscriminately and accepting everybody in the community. Paul encourages Christians to be hospitable to others at all times as this brings them new blessings. Matthew 25: 31-46 shows that people will answer for how they treat other persons on judgment day. Therefore, Christians should strongly condemn the ongoing efforts of expelling illegal immigrants in the country.
References
Heimburger, R. W. (2014). A theological response to the" illegal alien" in federal United States law (Doctoral dissertation, Oxford University, UK).
Melkonian-Hoover, R. M., & Kellstedt, L. A. (2019). Conclusion: Evangelical Christianity and Immigration Reform: What Comes Next?. In Evangelicals and Immigration (pp. 159-164). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Rojas-Flores, L., Clements, M. L., Hwang Koo, J., & London, J. (2017). Trauma and psychological distress in Latino citizen children following parental detention and deportation. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 9(3), 352.
Tsuji, H., Usuda, K., Takahashi, Y., Kono, K., & Tamaki, J. (2016). Challenges and solutions in immigrant occupational health in the United States: a literature review and comparative analysis. Sangyo eiseigaku zasshi= Journal of occupational health, 58(2), 63-71.
Wickersham, M. E. (2013). Parables and politics: Clergy attitudes toward illegal immigration in Alabama. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 35(3), 336-353.
